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Historic Results for Enforce Tac 2024 Underscore Its Successful Course

Sunday, March 3rd, 2024

The trade fair for members of official security agencies and the armed forces comes to a resoundingly successful end. The quality and diversity of the industry, event and visitors are indisputable. And the vision is clear: To stay true to the strategic direction and demonstrate that internal and external security go hand in hand.

• Well over 12,000 trade visitors (7,235 in 2023) from 86 countries took part in the exhibition for members of official security agencies and the armed forces

• Around 730 exhibitors (540 in 2023) from 46 countries showcased their solutions for internal and external security for use in both the military and civil sphere on a display area measuring 30,000 m² (22,000 m² in 2023)

From 26 to 28 February 2024, members of official security agencies and the armed forces were delighted to reunite in Nuremberg again for the annual event. The Enforce Tac trade fair, which took place over three days for the first time, was a resounding success, welcoming more than 12,000 trade visitors from around 90 countries. Diversity, innovation and professional dialogue took centre-stage at the event. The exhibition brought together the usual high-calibre exhibitors, trade visitors with appropriate credentials, and strictly accredited media representatives from the sector. In 2024, this annual gathering was again held under the patronage of the Bavarian Minister of the Interior, Sport and Integration, Joachim Herrmann. In the usual extremely discreet atmosphere, Enforce Tac once again served as a platform for discussing the burning issues of internal and external security in Europe and the rest of the world.

More established than ever before

“To be honest, I’m lost for words,” says Isabelle Teufert, Director of Enforce Tac, about her feelings on seeing the figures for Enforce Tac 2024. “On behalf of my entire team, I can only say thanks. Our trade fair for internal and external security is more established than ever.”

Excitement about 2025 as number of halls increases from three to five

The exhibition grounds provided a lively atmosphere and brought exhibitors and their most important target groups together. Many of the trade visitors are involved in their establishment’s procurement decisions and enjoyed the secure environment and confidential atmosphere for high-quality discussions. Enforce Tac offered insights into emerging trends and proven technologies. It was already obvious that the participants were very much looking forward to the industry gathering in 2025: “As early as the second day it was clear that the planned display area for 2025 with Halls 7, 7A, 8 and 9 would not be big enough,” says Teufert, describing the booking situation.

As a result, it has been decided that Hall 10.0 will be needed in addition to Halls 7, 7A, 8 and 9 at Enforce Tac 2025. This means that in 2025, the professional audience can look forward to an exhibition space covering 48,000 m² (30,000 m² in 2024). In future, the highly popular supporting programme for Enforce Tac will have a weatherproof home in Hall 8.

Clear message from politicians: Herrmann praises Enforce Tac

Alongside State Secretary Tobias Gotthart, the members of the Committee for Municipal Affairs, Internal Security and Sport and Chairman Roland Weigert, former State Secretary, the Lord Mayor Marcus König of Nuremberg and the American Consul General Timothy Liston and Consul General of Turkey, Fatma Ta?an Cebeci, the Bavarian State Minister of the Interior for Sport and Integration, Joachim Herrmann, also welcomed the opportunity to visit Enforce Tac in 2024.

“Given the various crises and threats worldwide, Enforce Tac and its highly specialised range of solutions for security applications is more important than ever,” said Herrmann in praise of the event. “The fact that Enforce Tac takes place over three days this year with more than 700 exhibitors is evidence of its growing importance.” According to Herrmann, developers and manufacturers of high-performance security technology are indispensable for internal and external security.

Extending the trade fair experience online

With the YouTube format Enforce Tac TV and other Enforce Tac social media channels on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, the trade fair team has managed to extend the trade fair experience to the digital environment.

All content on the YouTube format will also be available after the trade fair is over. The Enforce Tac social media channels offer a simple and convenient way for industry stakeholders and other interested parties to constantly keep up to speed with innovations, trends and updates from the trade fair.

Save the date

Enforce Tac will be held at Exhibition Centre Nuremberg from 24 to 26 February 2025. For more information please visit: www.enforcetac.com

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Rheinmetall Supplying European Customer with Further Skynex Air Defence Systems

Saturday, March 2nd, 2024

Rheinmetall has been awarded a further contract to supply Skynex air defence systems to a European customer. The systems will enhance the customer’s ability to defend itself against aerial threats. The order has a value in the lower three-digit million euro range. The deliveries will take place over the course of 2025 and, as with the initial contract, will also include the associated Rheinmetall made HX trucks.

Relying on automatic cannon-based air defence, Skynex lends itself especially well to very short-range contexts where guided missiles are ineffective. Moreover, the use of programmable 35mm Ahead ammunition, as developed by Rheinmetall for this purpose, is significantly less expensive than comparable guided missile-based systems. Equally important: 35mm ammunition cannot be influenced much less jammed by electronic countermeasures when fired. The success of the self-propelled “Flakpanzer” Gepard antiaircraft system in Ukraine underscores the effectiveness of 35mm gun-based air defence against aerial targets, especially cruise missiles and drones.

The advanced Skynex air defence system is based on a concept that keeps airspace surveillance separate from the effectors. Owing to this modularity, and depending on the mission, the necessary assets can be linked to the command-and-control network. The system enables integration of radar equipment from various manufacturers. Skynex also offers great freedom with respect to effectors, enabling integration of many different advanced air defence weapons into the system. Having its own tracking unit is the sole prerequisite. Besides individual sensors and effectors, existing air defence systems like the Skyshield and Skyguard families can be built into the new architecture as fire units. In a remotely located command and weapon engagement centre, the recognized air situation is depicted on a map together with the sensors and effectors positioned in the field, thus simplifying allocation of targets to air defence assets connected to the system.

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HENSOLDT supplies all-round vision system for self-propelled wheeled howitzer from KNDS

Saturday, March 2nd, 2024

Oberkochen/Germany, 1. March 2024 – The sensor solution provider HENSOLDT has sold its all-round vision system SETAS (See Through Armour System) for the first time. The customer is KNDS in Germany. The order comprises a total of 54 units. The order value is in the double-digit million range. SETAS will be integrated into the customer’s RCH 155 self-propelled artillery gun.

SETAS is a high-performance day and night observation system for armoured vehicles of all kinds. The high-resolution electro-optical vision system gives every crew member the opportunity to obtain full visual situational awareness 360 degrees around the vehicle from inside the vehicle. Threats within their radius of action can be reliably identified and classified at an early stage. The modular system comprises two high-performance sensor systems: high-resolution colour daylight cameras and uncooled thermal imaging cameras.

“With the initial integration, we are equipping our customer and the user with a revolutionary sensor solution in the field of all-round visibility,” says Tanya Altmann, Head of Optronics & Land Solutions at HENSOLDT. “The system will realise its full potential when it is connected to the vehicle network and the battle management system and provides crew members with the best possible information sovereignty using AI-supported sensor fusion. With this launching customer, HENSOLDT is therefore consistently continuing its growth path as a solution provider.”

In a further configuration step, the observation capabilities of SETAS can be enhanced with integrated automatic image processing functions such as Moving Target Indication (MTI), object tracking and other modes. This makes it easier for the crew to cope with the large amount of image data for personal 360-degree situational awareness. Thanks to its modularity and open interface architecture (NGVA-compliant), this observation system can be easily integrated into any new or existing vehicle. The interface allows full integration or standalone operation by supporting any type of HMI (standard or smart display, smart glasses, tablet, etc.).

Using a helmet-mounted display as an HMI, a crew member inside the vehicle can practically see through the armour and thus achieve the same orientation as when observing “from above”. Intelligent software algorithms automatically warn the crew if a potentially threatening movement is detected in the vicinity of the vehicle. SETAS can be installed as a stand-alone system, providing crews of both legacy platforms and new systems with significantly increased situational awareness.

You can find out more about SETAS here.

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Rheinmetall Awarded Fifth Order for Germany’s Modular Medical Facilities Total System

Friday, March 1st, 2024

Germany’s Federal Agency for Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) has contracted with Rheinmetall to modernize additional parts of the Bundeswehr’s Modular Medical Facilities total system (MSE). For Rheinmetall, the aggregate value of the contract is in the mid-single-digit million-euro range.

The order encompasses X-ray containers that enable X-ray imaging of the entire human body sitting, lying or standing, as well as internal organs in the radiology realm. The X-ray equipment now in service no longer reflects the latest state of the art and must therefore be replaced or regenerated. The regenerated and/or newly fabricated containers will house new Siemens X-ray equipment (scanner and diagnostic station), including accessories for subsequent operation in the container. Following integration, reliable patient care in accordance with current German standards will be assured without limitation in a field hospital consisting of multiple MSE containers.

The Modular Medical Facilities total system comprises military treatment facilities, trauma centres and combat support hospitals utilized in Bundeswehr areas of operation. Here, individual systems take care of special tasks – in this case, X-ray imaging. Care provided inside the container must correspond to current German hospital standards. Like all MSE components, the X-ray container is classified in accordance with the International Convention for Safe Containers. Moreover, because it is stackable, it can be transported by container ship. The systems and equipment they contain are adaptable in terms of scope and functionality depending on customer specifications.

“We’re delighted to have been awarded a fifth contract for the MSE total system and expect to see continued growth in this area in future”, declares Dr Deniz Akitürk, CEO of Rheinmetall Project Solutions GmbH. Since 2019, Rheinmetall Project Solutions GmbH has bundled the Group’s resources and capabilities in the operational support domain and is thus responsible for mobile deployed operations solutions. By supplying special services, it seeks to provide customers with long-term operational support. Rheinmetall AG created the company specifically to handle services and projects relating to support of deployed operations.

Posted in International, Medical, Press Release, Shelter | Comments Off on Rheinmetall Awarded Fifth Order for Germany’s Modular Medical Facilities Total System

DroneShield Commences Development of Software Defined Radios for Next-Gen C-UAS Technologies

Friday, March 1st, 2024

DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has commenced development of custom higher performance multi-channel software defined radios (“SDRs”) to be used in new evolution capabilities of future generations of its products.

The Company is a global leader in the C-UAS market, including the handheld C-UAS solutions. Part of the challenge is reducing the hardware to an ultra-small Size, Weight and Power (“SWaP”) parameters to dimensions that can be tactically deployed in the field by end users, while ensuring sufficient computing ability to run complex AI-algorithms on the devices, without referencing cloud or other systems (also known as computing on the edge).

DroneShield presently have approximately 90 engineers in its Sydney facility. It is expected that more than 50% of the engineering team will be involved in this initiative, including Radio Frequency, Electronic Engineering, Firmware, Embedded Software, Data Science, Data, Mechanical, System and Quality Engineering.

Angus Bean, DroneShield Chief Technology Officer, commented, “As the drone threat space continues to rapidly evolve, DroneShield continues with a significant investment into next generation technologies, including moving into fully custom software defined radios in-house.”

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GA-ASI Makes First Flight of XQ-67A OBSS

Friday, March 1st, 2024

SAN DIEGO – 29 February 2024 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) flew the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) for the first time on Feb. 28, 2024. OBSS is an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) program and GA-ASI was selected in 2021 to design, build and fly the new aircraft.

With flight of the AFRL-funded XQ-67A, GA-ASI has validated the “genus/species” concept first developed with AFRL as part of the Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Platform Sharing (LCAAPS) program focused on building several aircraft variants from a common core chassis.

Under LCAAPS, AFRL and GA-ASI explored development of a chassis, termed a “genus”, as the foundational core architecture from which several “species” of aircraft can be built.

“This provides an alternative acquisition approach for military aircraft that enables faster development, lower costs and more opportunities for frequent technology refresh,” said Trenton White, OBSS Program Manager and aerospace engineer in AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate. “XQ-67A is the first “species” to be designed and built from this shared platform. Flight demonstration of this system is a major first step toward showing the ability to produce affordable combat mass.”

“OBSS is the first aircraft type built and flown using a common core chassis developed by GA-ASI that promotes commonality across multiple vehicle types,” said GA-ASI Vice President of Advanced Programs Michael Atwood.

Posted in Aviation, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on GA-ASI Makes First Flight of XQ-67A OBSS

Spectra Group awarded global distribution rights for Comtech’s Troposcatter Family of Systems

Friday, March 1st, 2024

Spectra Group, a specialist provider of secure voice, data and satellite communications systems, has been awarded the global distribution rights for Comtech’s Troposcatter Family of Systems (FoS) which includes the 500-Watt Mobile Transportable Transmission System (MTTS), the more mobile 10-Watt Compact Over-the-Horizon Mobile Expeditionary Terminal (COMET), and other new next generation troposcatter systems. The 5-year agreement appoints Spectra Group in all areas globally, except for the USA, Canada and Mexico which is retained by Comtech. Spectra Group was first appointed by Comtech as UK and NATO Special Operations Forces (SOF) agents in September 2019. Since then, Spectra Group has announced multiple orders for Comtech’s Troposcatter FoS including UK Navy (Royal Marines) in March 2022, HQ ARRC in March 2023, 3 (UK) Division in September 2023 and an overseas customer. In October 2023, Spectra Group placed a USD$20M plus order with Comtech to service multiple orders already received, and several expected follow-on orders from undisclosed customers in the NATO and European regions.

The Troposcatter FoS, developed by Comtech, provide high capacity, low-latency data links for over-the-horizon communications utilizing Comtech’s state-of-the-art CS67PLUS troposcatter radio/modem, without the need to rely on satellites or multiple line-of-sight repeaters. The Troposcatter COMET system, in particular, is ideal for providing a secure big data network for deployed headquarters from divisional down to company level because it is small and lightweight.

Due to its low power and directional nature, it is also difficult to detect and deny. It uses a maximum transmit power of 10-watts and only needs a 1-meter dish, but still has low latency (typically 9-20mS) and large bandwidth (5-60Mbps) while optimized for data links up to 60 km and beyond. In practice, data transfer speeds can be much greater (the CS67PLUS operates up to 105 Mbps single stream and 210 Mbps dual stream operation) and data links can be effective up to 100kms+ on the COMET, depending on the environment. The system is simple, intuitive, and easy to set up (15 minutes). Critically, it is also satellite independent and can work in a GPS/GNSS denied environment (including polar regions) making it ideal for use during Peer-on-Peer conflict and when Multi Domain Integration is required.

Since March 2022, Comtech’s Troposcatter COMET has been available on the NATO Catalogue via the NATO Support Procurement Agency (NSPA), so any NATO country can purchase directly without having to endure a long tender process. For the rest of the world, the Troposcatter FoS can be purchased directly from Spectra Group or via Comtech for North America.

Simon Davies, CEO of Spectra Group said: “Spectra is delighted to have expanded our distribution region for this excellent product that perfectly complements our own SlingShot satellite communication system. We have been working closely with Comtech for the last 4 years and our recent sales successes are testament to the value of that partnership. With increasing state-level global threats to communications and the potential for denied or degraded satellite services, we need to maintain focus on innovation and diversification. The fresh development of robust, reliable and effective Troposcatter technologies opens up the opportunity to offer multiple long-range, secure communications solutions that don’t rely exclusively on satellite systems and we are very happy to be at the forefront of these developing technologies.”

Ken Peterman, Comtech’s President and CEO said, “With the most deployed Troposcatter systems in the world, our FoS are uniquely designed to provide U.S. and coalition forces with an information advantage across all domains. We are thrilled to partner with Spectra Group to expand access to Comtech’s FoS and deliver our marketing leading beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) troposcatter technologies to coalition forces operating across the globe. It was an easy decision to partner with Spectra Group given the company’s trust in the industry and deep understanding of how command, control, computers, communications, cyber, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) will evolve tnce, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C5ISR) will evolve to meet needs of today and in the future.”

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DroneShield Releases Record 2023 Annual Results, Surging to Profitability

Thursday, February 29th, 2024

DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the release of record full year FY23 results.

The highlights include:

• FY23: record contracts and rapidly growing cash receipts

? FY23 $73.5 million cash receipts, up 5x vs. FY22

? FY23 $55.1 million revenue, up 3x vs. FY22

? 80% of revenues are from repeat customers

? The revenue vs. cash receipt difference mostly due to advanced payments on product subscriptions (SaaS), warranties, as well as grants received

? Largest geographical segment revenue contributions are US at 68% and Australia at 23%

• FY23 is first profitable year, with $9.3 million profit after tax

• Shareprice up 64% over 2023 (vs 9% for ASX300)

• Cash balance of $57.9 million as of 31 Dec 2023, no debt or convertibles

? Committed supply chain payments of $30 million

• $30 million contracted backlog and pipeline of over $510 million*

• Substantially completed expansion of the team to enable build, delivery and support of materially larger orders

? Completed move to a larger Sydney facility (3x current floor space) in January, plus supply chain partners been rapidly expanding

? No material cost to DRO to move, due to light capex model (heavy machinery work all outsourced) and landlord fitout incentive payments

? Positions the company for $300-400 million annual production capacity

? 115 team members including over 90 engineers

• Favourable environment for DroneShield with rapidly rising counter-drone, defence and security spending globally

? The Ukraine conflict continues to highlight the use of drones on the battlefield, which will continue driving increasing C-UAS orders even after the eventual ceasefire

? Drones increasingly used across global conflicts, including Hamas terror attack on Israel

Full Year Results Presentation can be viewed here: